#Brain Connectivity

A groundbreaking study published in Molecular Psychiatry reveals that LSD, unlike MDMA and d-amphetamine, alters brain connectivity in distinctive ways, reshaping our understanding of how these substances affect the human brain. Conducted by researchers at the University of Lübeck, this study is pivotal for psychiatry, underscoring the nuanced differences between substances often grouped under the “psychedelics” label.

The research utilized functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to observe brain activity in 25 healthy volunteers under the influence of LSD, MDMA, and d-amphetamine. The study found that while all three psychotropics disrupted communication within brain networks, LSD uniquely affected regions associated with self-awareness and sensory processing. These insights highlight the inaccuracy of lumping LSD with other psychedelics like MDMA, often wrongly presumed to have similar effects due to their shared primary action on serotonin 2A receptors.

A new study reveals distinctive features in human brain connectivity that set us apart from our closest primate relatives. Researchers, including senior neuroscientists and a leading postdoctoral researcher, used MRI data to compare humans with chimpanzees and macaques. The work, summarized for a science news audience, highlights how specific neural connections may underpin advanced cognition and social behavior.

For Thai readers, the findings offer fresh perspectives on how thinking, communication, and social interaction emerge from brain networks. By leveraging advanced imaging, the research moves beyond simple comparisons of brain size and dives into the architecture of internal connections that shape everyday abilities. The results suggest that differences in the temporal lobe, rather than only the prefrontal region, play a major role in what makes human cognition unique.

In a groundbreaking study, researchers have identified unique features in the human brain that distinguish it from other primates. Conducted by neuroscientists including Professor Rogier Mars and Katherine Bryant, the study examined brain connectivity using MRI data to compare humans with chimpanzees and macaque monkeys—our closest living primate relatives. This research, detailed in Science Alert, uncovers significant differences in brain wiring that contribute to our advanced cognitive abilities and social behaviors.